Soma News

Below are Soma (Carisoprodol) reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 4 ratings/reviews, Soma has an overall score of 4.25. The effectiveness score is 6.50 and the side effect score is 6. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence.

Soma review by 39 year old female patient

Rating

Overall rating:

Effectiveness:

Highly Effective

Side effects:

Moderate Side Effects

Treatment Info

Condition / reason:

back injury

Dosage & duration:

350mg taken 1 tablet 4 times daily for the period of 2 weeks

Other conditions:

na

Other drugs taken:

na

Reported Results

Benefits:

Minimized pain immediatley and made back injury seem non-existant

Side effects:

Could not remember doing things. ALmost like being in a time warp. Not good to take this medication unsupervised.

Comments:

Have a bulging disc. I was given Carisoprodol to relieve the pain. I took the medication for 2 weeks. I actually needed it much longer but the side effects were too intense. This medication does relieve pain but in no way cures injury.

Soma review by care giver of 42 year old female patient

Rating

Overall rating:

Effectiveness:

Ineffective

Side effects:

Moderate Side Effects

Treatment Info

Condition / reason:

Broken Ribs

Dosage & duration:

500mg , taken when needed / every four hours for the period of 1 month

Other conditions:

Bi-Polar disorder

Other drugs taken:

Wellbutrin Soma changed to Flexril 10 mg

Reported Results

Benefits:

The Soma made the patient agitated and did not work. The Flexril made the patient relax and sleep enough to let the rib heal nicely.

Side effects:

The Wellbutrin at times causes confusion in thought transfer.

Comments:

No Activity for six weeks as patient was a truckdriver for a living and fell in the bathroom at home and broke her rib. It was floating around and lung puncture was the greatest concern. The Flexril made the patient relax to almost oblivion therefore disabling her ability to move around. The Wellbutrin was for bipolar disorder and was taken twice a day for at least a year and prior to that Cymbalta which she said gave her gas.

Soma review by 44 year old male patient

Rating

Overall rating:

Effectiveness:

Highly Effective

Side effects:

Mild Side Effects

Treatment Info

Condition / reason:

back pain

Dosage & duration:

350mg taken every 6 hrs for the period of 3 days

Other conditions:

none

Other drugs taken:

none

Reported Results

Benefits:

The pain in my back and neck caused stress and spasms. The medication relived the pain , nearly completlly, and allowed the spasms to subside. I tried anti inflamatories before for this re occuring problem and found them to be nearly useless. Strong pain killers like darvocet and vicadin are affective but do not allow me to maintain any normal activity during the drug use.

Side effects:

I found that after two to three doses ther seems to be a cumulative affect of the drug on my sense of balance. This is very mild, and only leaves me feeling a bit light headed at times. I am still able to engage in most of my normal neccessary activities around my home. I do refrain from driving or any other possibly risky activity when on this medication. Also , when I have prolonged pain and require several days of medication, I have noticed slight constipation. This is no where near as bad as the constipation caused by vicoden or darvocet.

Comments:

I suffered form damage to soft tissues on my neck and back from an accedent. i crashed on a mountain bike and after the inisial recovery period, I found that certain activited can cause a sharp pain in my back at the base of my neck. This, if not medicated, will grow in the course of a hours, into spasms and tense pain. It will cause me to contort my neck and everything I do brings more pain and discomfort. The medication when taken at the onset of the pain, cause the muscles to relax and the pain to subside in a day. If the pain becomes severe and medication is postponed, it may take several doses of medication over the next day or two to make the muscles relax.

Soma review by 52 year old female patient

Rating

Overall rating:

Effectiveness:

Marginally Effective

Side effects:

Severe Side Effects

Treatment Info

Condition / reason:

migraines/upper back pain

Dosage & duration:

350 mg. taken several times a day for the period of at least a year

Other conditions:

none

Other drugs taken:

vicodin

Reported Results

Benefits:

None really. At the beginning it did relieve the pain and helped me to sleep.

Side effects:

It wasn't long until I became physically and psychologically dependant on the drug and the treatment became much worse than the problem for which it was prescribed. Soma is listed as a muscle relaxant which is quite misleading. Because it has been cleverly marketed, it is readily prescribed (or was) and very accessible. I think many pain management physicians prescribe soma for their patients without much thought as to the risks. The major adverse affects is the rapid tolerance developement and short term memory loss. There were a number of times that I'd forgotten if /or how much I had taken, which on one occasion precipitated an emergency room visit. It should be classified as a schedule 2 drug at least because of the potential for abuse and overdose. I think this drug should be taken off of the market.

Comments:

There aren't any treatment details. The pain management physician prescribed the medication each monthly visit and increased the dosage not long after introducing the drug as treatment. These kinds of physicians are really drug dealers cloaked in an DEA approved office.